UNITED NATIONS,
February 7 – The UN system's
deference to Cameroon's
35-year president Paul Biya,
and to the government of
neighboring Nigeria,
continues. The UN refugee
agency UNHCR in Abuja early on
January 30 told Inner City
Press that it has as yet no
comment on the blatant forced
repatriation or refoulement
to Cameroon of Sisiku Ayuk
Tabe and 46 others while it
seeks "explanations through
official channels." On January
31, Inner City Press against
asked UN Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, UN transcript
here and below. After
the UN again no-commented
Inner City Press' Cameroon
question on February 5 (video
here,
second half), at 5 pm that day
the US State Department issued
a, via spokesperson Heather
Nauert, below. On February 7,
Inner City Press asked
Guterres' spoksman Farhan Haq,
video here,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: about
Cameroon. There are
reports — and I don't… I would
assume the UN would be in some
position to confirm or deny
them — that there are Chadian
soldiers at the… in the
country at the request of the
Paul Biya Government to help
put down what they would call
unrest in southern
Cameroon. There's also a
video of a beheading of a… of
an anglophone southern
Cameroonian that's making the
rounds. I don't know if…
again, I'm always cautious in
looking at that, but it seems
like things are getting pretty
bad if people are being
beheaded and there are foreign
soldiers being brought
in. Does the UN… can it
confirm either of the two
things? And does it have
any… what is Mr. [Francois
Lounceny] Fall doing?
Things seem to be
significantly worse than they
were two weeks, two days, two
months ago. Spokesman:
No, we can't confirm these
reports. Mr. Fall is
continuing with his work. I
don't have any particular
update on his work in Cameroon
to share to you. Of
course, he's working in other
countries as well, but he has
been continuing with his
contacts." Contacts with
whom? On February 6 in front
of the UN Security Council,
Inner City Press asked the
United Kingdom's Deputy
Ambassador Jonathan Allen for
the UK's comment on Nigeria's
forced repatriation of 47 to
Cameroon. From the UK
transcript: Inner City Press:
Nigeria did a forced
repatriation of 47 Cameroonian
leaders. The UNHCR said it was
illegal. The US has commented
on it. Does the UK have any
view? Amb Allen: I’m afraid I
wasn’t aware of that before.
I’ll have to get back to you
on the details." Video here.
Later in the day a
Spokesperson for the UK
Mission to the UN returned to
Inner City Press with this, at
the UK position: "We call on
the Governments of Nigeria and
Cameroon to adhere to their
obligations under
international law and, in
particular, to refrain from
the forcible return of asylum
seekers.” And here's the US
statement: "The United States
condemns the ongoing violence
in Cameroon’s Anglophone
regions, including the murder
of two Cameroonian gendarmes
in the North West Region
village of Mbingo, a
Cameroonian soldier outside of
Bamenda on February 1, an
electoral official of
Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) in
Bangem, and the reported
deaths of four civilians in
Bemenda and Belo on February 2
and 3. We offer our
deepest condolences to the
families of the victims, and
to the people of
Cameroon. We also call
on the Government of Cameroon
to respect the human rights,
including due process, of the
47 Cameroonians forcibly
returned from Nigerian custody
to the Cameroonian authorities
on January 26, and many of
whom had reportedly submitted
asylum claims in
Nigeria. We urge the
Governments of Cameroon and
Nigeria to adhere to their
obligations under
international law to refrain
from forcible returns to
asylum-seekers back to their
countries of origin. The
47 Cameroonians are now held
in detention in Cameroon
allegedly in connection with
tension and violence in North
West and South West
Regions. We expect the
government of Cameroon to
afford these and other
individuals previously
detained all the rights and
protections enshrined in
Cameroon’s constitution,
consistent with the nation’s
international obligations and
commitments." Meanwhile the
French government, which
claims at the UN and elsewhere
that human rights is in its
DNA, has ignored the
refoulement, limited its
condemnation instead, via Foreign
ministry
spokeswoman
Agnes Von der
Muhll, on "new
killings of law enforcement
officials that took place on 1
February in Cameroon." In
Yaounde, France's Ambassador
Gilles Thibault is focusing,
like Reuters' ostensibly
charitable arm, on the
cultivation of pepper, see here.
This is colonialism. On
February 1, the UN refugee
agency UNHCR finally answered
Inner City Press' repeated
questions, below. But at the
UN noon briefing, even when
Inner City Press specifically
cited Guterres shameless
golden statue moment and Amina
J. Mohammed's Nigeria links,
the UN passed the buck. From
the UN transcript:
Inner City Press: you had said
two days ago, on the issue of
these… this refoulement from
Nigeria to Cameroon, to wait
for UNHCR [Office of the
United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees] to
speak. And they have
spoken, and they've said that
the law has been broken by
Nigeria, sending back, they
say, 47; some people involved
say it's 51. But, what I
wanted… so, I wanted to know,
at the Secretariat level,
given its involvement and its
call for dialogue in Cameroon,
and number two, specifically,
given that the Deputy
Secretary-General was in Abuja
when the abductions took
place, according to you, has
spoken to the Government about
it, has been quoted in a
speech she gave in South
Africa as calling Mr.
[Muhammadu] Buhari her
President, what is her
statement on Nigeria's
refoulement of at least 47 and
maybe 51? Spokesman: I
think we'll refer you to
UNHCR. UNHCR is in the
lead on the issue of refugees
and asylum-seekers and
refoulement. They have
spoken. We fully back
what UNHCR has said. Inner
City Press: But, how does it
impact this… I mean,
obviously…? Spokesman:
We continue to engage with the
Cameroonian authorities, and
our offers of helping them
work out some of the issues in
the Anglophone areas continues
to stand. I will come
back to you." When? Today's UN
is corrupt. Here was UNHCR:
"Hi dear Matthew, Following up
on my email, below is our
statement on the issue: UNHCR
condemns forced returns of
Cameroon asylum-seekers from
Nigeria: UNHCR, the UN Refugee
Agency, has learned with great
concern of the forced return
by Nigeria of 47 Cameroonians,
who were handed over to the
Cameroonian authorities on 26
January 2018. Most of the
individuals in question had
submitted asylum claims. Their
forcible return is in
violation of the principle of
non-refoulement, which
constitutes the cornerstone of
international refugee law. The
returns were carried out
despite UNHCR’s efforts and
engagement with the
authorities. UNHCR reminds
Nigeria of its obligations
under international and
Nigerian law, and urges the
Nigerian Government to refrain
from forcible returns of
Cameroonian asylum-seekers
back to their country of
origin. We also urge the
Government of Cameroon to
ensure that the group is
treated in accordance with
human rights law and
standards." Is this why UN
Deputy SG Amina J. Mohammed
has refused and avoided all
questions from Inner City
Press on this, including by
using restrictions on the
Press in "her UN, in support
of "her" President and
country? We'll have more on
this. From the UN's January 31
transcript: Inner City Press:
On Cameroon and Nigeria, you'd
said to wait for the press
release. There is none.
Spokesman: I don't have
anything. We can check
with UNHCR." But UNHCR's Babar
Baloch, Inner City Press asked
him again, replied: "Hi dear
Mathew, Apologies for missing
your yesterday’s email. We are
indeed gathering all details
on this incident. Will share
with you once have the info.
With best regards, Babar." The
tone is nice, but what a
failure for the UN system.
After UN Secretary General
Antonio Guterres accepted a
golden statue from Cameroon's
35-year president Paul Biya in
Biya's palace in Yaounde,
Guterres again shook hands
with Biya in Paris at the One
Planet event, photo here;
UN told Inner City Press no
meeting was scheduled. After
Guterres' envoy Francois
Lounceny Fall equated
secessionists with extremists,
Inner City Press was informed
that ten officials of the
Federal Republic of Ambazonia
declared on October 1
including Sisiku Julius Ayuk
Tabe have been grabbed and
disappeared -- while in
Nigeria. On January 29, Inner
City Press again asked
Guterres spokesman about the
detainees, and this time
deputy spokesman Farhan Haq
replied that the UN and Deputy
Secretary General Amina J.
Mohammed, a former Nigerian environment
minister in Abuja at the time
of the detentions, had made
inquiries. Less than an hour
later, Inner City Press was
sent Cameroon's announcement
that Ayuk Tabe and more than
forty others have been
transferred to Yaounde. A day
after Inner City Press asked
the UN in writing, Guterres'
spokesman Stephane Dujarric
still had no answer at noon on
January 30, except to wait for
a UNHCR press release. Earlier
on January 30, Inner City
Press put the question to
Amina J. Mohammed how did not
answer, video here.
Inner City Press on January 29
wrote to UNHCR's most senior
spokespeople in Geneva, and
those in Nigeria, "this is a
Press request for comment and
information regarding the
reported refoulement /
"repatriation" to Cameroon of
Ayuk Tabe and more than 40
others to Yaounde, from
Nigeria.UNHCR has said, in
"Nigeria: Update on the
Cameroon Arrivals, Issue #5
(24 January 2018)" that "For
others still in detention,
including the leadership of
the pro-independence group,
the government has agreed to
grant UNHCR access for the
determination of their status.
The government has further
reassured UNHCR that those
detained would not be returned
to Cameroon." Now
Cameroon Minister Bakary says
they are back in Yaounde (attached).
On deadline, as a matter of
urgency given the context,
this is a request for comment
and explanation and action.
Please confirm receipt." On
January 30 from Abuja, UNHCR's
Senior
External
Relations
Officer Elizabeth
Mpimbaza replied, "Dear Mr.
Lee, Thank you for your email.
UNHCR has seen the
statement. The
government gave UNHCR
access to some of asylum
seekers last week and we are
seeking explanations through
official channels." This
interim response was followed,
from Geneva, by an assignment
of Inner City Press' question
to the same UNHCR spokesperson
who partially responded when a
UNHCR staffer called
for "harder repression" by
Biya in Cameroon, still never
fully explained by UNHCR. We
will have more on this as soon
as possible. Watch this site.
Much earlier, still without
substantive answer nine hours
later, Inner City Press wrote
to Guterres' spokesmen and
deputy: "Today at the noon
briefing, along with the
confirmation that the
Secretary General met with
Omar al Bashir, Inner City
Press' weeks-old question
about what the UN has done
about those detained in Abuja
was belatedly responded to,
with the statement that the UN
including the Deputy Secretary
General had made inquiries.
Soon after the noon briefing I
became aware of a document in
which the Cameroon Minister of
Information says that Ayuk
Tabe and more than 40 others
have been transferred - or
refouled -- to Cameroon, see [here].
This is a formal request for
comment on the legality of
this transfer, separately on
the political advisability of
this transfer given UN envoy
Fall's call for inclusive
dialogue, and for all
specifics of what the UN
actually did about these
detentions. On deadline,
please confirm receipt."
Receipt has been confirmed,
and Inner City Press has
presented to the UN what UNHCR
said, about no sending back to
Cameroon. Watch this site. On
January 25 Inner City Press
asked UN Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, UN transcript here
Inner City Press: statistics
of people that have fled
Cameroon and Nigeria because
of-- Spokesman [cutting
in]: Yeah, UNHCR has.
Question: …because of
the crackdown. Now local
groups… aid groups in Nigeria
said that, in fact, the number
is three times what the UN's
reported. It's 43,000,
not what the UN
reported. And they're
saying that the UN is
incorrectly only counting
those who come through, like,
on roads or on buses…
Spokesman: I mean, I…
we'll check with our UNHCR
colleagues. They can
obviously only count where
they are, and I think they try
to be as many places as
possible, but we'll go back to
UNHCR… Inner City Press: What
is the UN actually doing to
try to… I'm wondering, like,
Mr. {Francois Lounceny} Fall,
has he gone… has he spoken to
Paul Biya? Has anyone
done anything on the
underlying conflict?
Spokesman: Our contacts
are continuing, and our
efforts are continuing.
Thank you." No thanks.
On January 22, Inner City
Press asked UN Spokesman
Stephane Dujarric, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press: Since the
Deputy Secretary-General was
there, this controversy has
been ongoing of leaders of
southern Cameroons or
Ambazonia being held in
Nigeria. And it's said
today they were brought to
court charged with running
camps. When she was
there, did she learn anything
about this? Did she have
any communications?
Because it's creating quite
a…Spokesman: "I
understand. As soon as I
have something, I will share
it with you." Then nothing,
including when Inner City
Press though still restricted
put the question to Amina J.
Mohammed, Vine video here.
On January 19, Inner City
Press asked Guterres'
spokesman Stephane Dujarric,
video here,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: I heard the
Secretary-General when he said
today that of course, he's
worried about any situation
where people could die, so I
wanted to ask you again about
the situation in the
Anglophone areas of
Cameroon. There are now
reports that military gunship
helicopters have fired at
farmers, saying that they are
fighters, and there's a whole
town that was burned
down. 6,000 people have
fled across the border into
Nigeria, so what exactly is
the UN doing in that
situation? Spokesman:
Well, you know, we're
following the situation, and
our colleagues at UNHCR
[Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for
Refugees] have said today that
the number of people fleeing
the English-speaking areas of
Cameroon into Nigeria is
growing, and they're
increasingly concerned about
the plight of women and
children among them. We
obviously share that
concern. Women and
children are about 80 per cent
of the 10,000 refugees so far
registered in the eastern part
of Nigeria, and this situation
we're continuing to follow.
Inner City Press: And
one other thing. WFP
[World Food Programme] has
found in an audit that…
that they're not correctly
protecting the personal data
of the people whose data they
take in order to provide aid
to, that basically, it's all
in a centralized database and
it doesn't follow basic kind
of safeguards. I wanted
to know: Is there a UN
systemwide as… as these… I
know that there's
biometrics. There's all
kinds of data being collected.
Spokesman: I'll check on
this WFP report." Then,
nothing. On January 16, Inner
City Press asked Guterres
directly, video here,
UN transcript here:
Q: Matthew Lee, Inner City
Press, on behalf of the Free
UN Coalition for Access,
hoping for more question and
answer in 2018... On Cameroon,
you visited, I know, in late
October. Since then, some
Anglophone leaders have been
arrested… or abducted in
Nigeria, where I know your
deputy was. I wanted to know
what the UN system is doing
about this now cross-border
problem. SG Guterres:
"Well, as a matter of fact, in
relation to that, we have done
several initiatives, and some
of them even led to the
release of people, and we will
go on engaging with all the
states involved." So on
January 18, two days later,
Inner City Press asked UN
Spokesman Dujarric, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press: I wanted to
ask you again, because there
have been… I don't know if
it's true or not. There
have been some reports that,
in her time in Nigeria, she
did inquire in some way into
the case of these ten
Anglophones, Cameroonian
leaders, abducted in Nigeria
12 days ago. Is… and I
know that the
Secretary-General made some…
made sort… he said generally
that there are…
Spokesman: As I said, if
I had an update, I would give
one to you. Inner City
Press: What about the
Global Compact? You'd
said that you would check with
the Global Contact about China
Energy Fund Committee --
Spokesman: I would need
to check on that." Hours
later, nothing on either
issue. Today's UN is corrupt.
Inner City Press on January 15
asked Guterres' spokesman
Stephane Dujarric, UN
transcript here: Inner City
Press: I want to… to ask you
again about the… this now
10-day disappearance of
southern Cameroonian leaders
in Nigeria. You know,
each time you’ve said you’re
unaware of it. It’s
getting more and more
coverage. It seems to be
a regional issue. And I
noticed that… that the Deputy
Secretary-General… now it says
she’s on leave. She was
there for a week in
Nigeria. And I’m just
wondering to ask you again, in
that week, did she find the
time to ask the Nigerian
Government…Spokesman: As
I said, if I have anything on
this, I willshare it with you.
Inner City Press: Is Mr.
[François Louncény] Fall doing
anything? I mean…
Spokesman: As I said, if
I have something to share with
you, I will." And then:
nothing.From January 12, video
here,
UNtranscript here:
Inner City Press: I wanted to
ask you again. Now,
Amnesty International has
spoken out about - it turns
out it's 10 independence
leaders of the anglophone
regions of Cameroon as they've
put it that were abducted in
Nigeria more than a week ago,
and they've said…
Spokesman: I don't have
anything new on that. Inner
City Press: I guess…
because I see pictures of
Amina Mohammed with the
Government of Nigeria and I'm
just wondering has she brought
it up to them?
Spokesman: I have
nothing new on that at this
point." This is the AI
statement: "Ten leaders of the
independence movement in the
Anglophone regions of Cameroon
could be at risk of torture
and unfair trials if
extradited from Nigeria, where
they have been arrested and
detained in secret for one
week, Amnesty International
said today. On 5 January,
armed men in plain clothes
stormed a hotel in Nigeria’s
capital, Abuja where the
activists, all members of the
pro-independence Southern
Cameroon National Council
(SCNC), were meeting, and
arrested them without
presenting a warrant or
providing an
explanation. They are
being held incommunicado,
without any access to a
lawyer, in contravention of
Nigerian law which demands
they must be seen by a judge
within 48 hours. Human rights
lawyers in Nigeria have said
that an extradition request
has been made by the
Cameroonian government, but no
details have been made public.
“By holding these activists in
secret, without charge, the
Nigerian authorities are
failing to respect both
national and international
law. If they are extradited to
Cameroon, they risk an unfair
trial before a military court
and the deeply disturbing
possibility of torture,” said
Osai Ojigho, Director of
Amnesty International
Nigeria." So where is the UN
and Amina J. Mohammed? On tour
with and praising Nigeria's
government, of course. On
January 11, Inner City Press
asked Guterres' spokesman
Stephane Dujarric, video here,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: I'd asked
you on Monday about this
abduction of nine southern
Cameroon leaders in
Abuja. So, it's… they
were taken out of a hotel, you
know, by armed men. So,
I'm wondering… I was wondering
even in Chamb… I was wanting
to see if Mr. Chambas, who I
know covers Nigeria… what's
the UN system… you said that
you're aware of it and trying
to monitor it.
Spokesman: We have not
seen any confirmation or not…
we have… we're still looking
at the situation, but we've
not seen any official or been
made aware of any official
confirmation since the
incident's happened. Inner
City Press: Well, The
Guardian has a quote from a
Nigerian official saying they
did take them into… into
custody, and there's a big
concern that they'll be
extradited to Cameroon but my
question… Spokesman:
That's… that's… yeah. Go
ahead. I… Inner City
Press: Since I've seen
that Amina Mohammed's schedule
says that she's in Abuja for
the entire week, meeting with
Government officials, it
seems… I guess I'm asking you,
did she… has she asked them if
they're responsible?
It's a disappearance.
Spokesman: I have
nothing else to add." Nothing.
With Ayuk Tabe still
"disappeared," Inner City
Press is re-publishing a few
of his responses to its
questions back in November.
Inner City Press asked him if
he thought the "One Nigeria"
policy of Antonio Guterres,
his (Nigerian) Deputy SG Amina
J. Mohammed and envoy Chambas
impacts their view of Southern
Cameroons / Ambazonia. Ayuk
Tabe noted the lack of
transparency for Guterres'
meeting with Paul Biya in late
October; when Inner City Press
asked of Biya's Ambassador to
the UN bragging about Amina J.
Mohammed's position on Biafra,
Ayuk Tabe replied
that then she does not
have the correct facts. Now in
Abuja, she is silent. Reports
including from Lagos indicate
that Nigeria's Department of
State Security is responsible
- this while UN Deputy
Secretary General Amina J.
Mohammed, previously Buhari's
environment minister signing
4000 certificates for
endangered rosewood from
Nigeria and Cameroon already
in China, is in Abuja. Now the
Lagos-based African Bar
Association has written to
Nigeria's Attorney General
demanding, in 48 hours, the
release of what it calls these
Cameroonian refugees. One
might think that Antonio
Guterres, previously the head
of the UN's refugee agency
UNHCR and about to release,
pre-spun, a migration report
on January 11, would have
something to say and more
importantly do. But no -
nothing. Total failure. There
had been no answers from the
UN, to Inner City Press'
January 6 questions - so it
asked at the January 8 UN noon
briefing, video here,
transcript here:
Inner City Press: I wanted to
ask you something… actually a
couple of things that I'd
asked you in writing on
Saturday. One has to do
with the… the detention or
abduction of disappearance of
nine southern Cameroon… or
Ambazonia or Anglophone
leaders in Abuja. They
seem to have been taken out of
a hotel where they were
meeting, either by Cameroon
forces or by Nigeria.
And I know the Deputy
Secretary-General is in
Abuja. Maybe it's a coi…
it's… I'm just wondering,
given that the UN has called
for dialogue and that these
people have been locked up…?

Spokesman: Her presence
was scheduled in
advance. We're,
obviously, aware of the
reports. We've not been
able to get any official
confirmation one way or
another, and we're going to
continue to monitor the
situation.

Question: I guess two
que… one is, has Mr. [Francois
Lounceny] Fall made any
inquiries? Number two, I
understand that she'd
obviously previously scheduled
this week-long trip to Abuja,
but given that she's meeting
with senior Nigerian officials
and given that there are
reports that the Nigerian
Department of State Security
is responsible for…?
Spokesman: As I said,
we're trying to get some sort
of official confirmation one
way or another, and we'll
continue monitoring the
situation." Monitoring?
So this is not a threat to
international peace and
security? Inner City Press has
asked the spokespeople for UN
High Commissioner for Human
Rights Zeid "this is a request
for UN OHCHR comment / action
on the reported abduction of
nine Southern Cameroonians in
Abuja, Nigeria. Reportedly
they were in a “meeting in
Abuja, Federal Capital
Territory of Nigeria at the
time the Cameroun Gunmen
showed up at the Hotel. The
meeting started at around 5pm,
Nigerian time. At around
7:30PM, the gunmen came into
the Hotel and abducted all of
them.” Please confirm receipt
and all UN OHCHR action /
comment." Inner City Press has
formally asked Guterres three
top spokespeople the same. So
far, nothing. When Inner City
Press asked Nigeria's Buhari
government's foreign minister
about the crackdown just
across his border, he
mechanically expressed support
to Biya, on Boko Haram.
Cameroon's Ambassador told
Inner City Press Guterres'
deputy Amina J. Mohammed, who
describes Buhari as "my
president," would put his
Biafra position to work on
Cameroon(s). And now Amina J.
Mohammed is IN Nigeria, for a
full week. As Inner City Press
noted on January 5, the UN
said, "The Deputy
Secretary-General will depart
New York for Abuja, Nigeria on
the 6th to have informal
consultations on
cross-regional issues with
President Kagame as incoming
Chair of the AU, and with the
President of Nigeria.
She will also have meetings
with the UN country team, and
with senior Government
officials of Nigeria. The
Deputy Secretary-General will
return to New York on 14
January." AmbGov says "in a
High Command meeting in Abuja,
Federal Capital Territory of
Nigeria at the time the
Cameroun Gunmen showed up at
the Hotel. The meeting started
at around 5pm, Nigerian time.
At around 7:30PM, the gunmen
came into the Hotel and
abducted all of them
[including] Dr. Nfor Ngala
Nfor, Dr. Fidelis Nde Che, Dr.
Henry Kimeng, Prof. Awasum,
Dr. Cornelius Kwang, Mr.
Tassang Wilfred, Barrister
Eyambe Elias Dr. Ojong Okongho
and Barrister Nalowa Bih."
We'll have more on all this.
On January 4, Inner City Press
asked Guterres' Deputy
Spokesman Farhan Haq, video
here, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: on François
Fall. The Commonwealth
Secretary-General, Ms.
Scotland, visited Cameroon,
and she went, to Buea, she
went to the region. She
issued a call for
dialogue. And so it made
me wonder, and I wanted to ask
you again, it doesn't seem
that Mr. Fall, in his visits
to Cameroon, has actually
visited the Anglophone
areas. Has anyone in his
team done so? And is the
UN… is his approach, such as
it is, to Cameroon in any way
taking into account or working
with the Commonwealth under
Article 8 or otherwise of the
UN Charter? Deputy Spokesman:
Well, he reaches out to
different interlocutors as
needed, including regional
groups. But Mr. Fall has
also met with representatives
of the Anglophone
community. He and his
team have done so." When? With
whom? Where is the golden
statue? On December 29, Inner
City Press asked Guterres'
lead spokesman Stephane
Dujarric and then his
delegated spokesman Mathias
Gillmann about, among other
things, "the continued
detention of now hospitalized
opposition leader Mancho
Bibixi" - with no answer at
all. The year-end speech by
Paul Biya said, "in the
North-West and South-West
Regions, socio-professional
grievances, which the
Government nonetheless strove
to address adequately, were
exploited by extremists
seeking to impose their
secessionist plans through
violence" - nearly exactly
what the UN's Francois
Lounceny Fall, who ran from
the Security Council without
answer Press questions, says.
On January 2, Inner City Press
asked Guterres' deputy
spokesman Farhan Haq, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press: I want to
ask you about Cameroon and
Liberia. I'd asked you,
over the holiday, there's been
quite a lot of military
action, including near the
border of Nigeria, more
refugees. And I just
wanted to know, did Mr.
[Francois Lounceny] Fall,
during this 10-day period,
have any contacts? Was
there any… has the UN been
following that? Because
things seem to actually be
getting more militarized and
more people killed in the
towns I emailed you the names
of. Deputy Spokesman:
He's following the situation,
and he'll continue to engage
with the authorities in
Cameroon as well as the
contacts he's made on this."
Which contacts? Where is the
golden statue? Guterres said
he's issuing a "red alter to
our world" for 2018, but in
2017 he helped give a green
light to Biya's and others'
crackdowns. On December 26,
Patrice Nganang was taken from
jail in Yaounde to flown out
of the country and back to the
US, his Cameroonian passport
confiscated. The UN did
nothing for him; at the UN
last week when Inner City
Press asked Cameroon's
Ambassador about the release
after more than two years of
Ahmed Abba he smiled, in his
way, and bragged that his
government held him in jail
more than two years. This is
Biya's Cameroon. And this is
Antonio Guterres' UN: on
December 21, after Guterres'
spokesman bragged about his
record on human rights, Inner
City Press asked him a follow
up questions on Cameroon. From
the UN transcript:
Inner City Press: I think the
Secretary-General has been
very vocal in his defence of
human rights. I would
refer you to his speech he
delivered in London a few
weeks ago on the need to
ensure the full protection of
human rights in the fight
against terrorism. He
has spoken out in different
fora, in different places, to
different audiences, about the
importance of human rights,
the importance of free speech,
the importance of an active
and vibrant civil
society. I will leave it
at that. I don't… you
know, obviously, you and your
colleagues are free to analyse
and dissect the relationships,
but that's where we stand on
it. Inner City Press One
last just very specific on
that. In the sense that
you're saying very… very, you
know, active on human rights,
can you say a number… how many
people… whether it's the
Secretariat or, to your
knowledge, the… the… the High
Commissioner, how many people
do they think have been
actually… civilians have been
killed in the Anglophone areas
of Cameroon? The last number I
heard out of the UN was ten,
and media put the number… much
higher than that.
Spokesman: I don't have…
I don't have… I don't have… I
don't have an updated number."
Of course not. Guterres is on
vacation until January 3. As
of December 19 it seems clear
Guterres has not lifted a
finger on the case of
journalist Patrice Nganang,
jailed by Biya for ten days
and counting. Inner City Press
asked Guterres' spokesman at
the December 15 UN noon
briefing, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: wanted to
ask you again about… about the
journalist clocked up in
Cameroon for ten days now,
Patrice Nganang, who was, you
know… basically had
investigated the Anglophone
areas and was picked up from
the airport in Douala, is in
jail, charged with insulting
or threatening the
president. Has the UN
done anything on that?
Spokesman: I don't have
an update on the case in
Cameroon." Later on December
15, Guterres was slated to be
sold for $1200 a table at a
Wall Street fundraiser; we'll
have more on this. When
Guterres' envoy Francois
Lounceny Fall briefed the UN
Security Council on December
13, he lumped Boko Haram and
"the Anglophone separatist
movement" in the same
sentence. On UN Radio, Fall
has equated secessionists with
extremists. On December 13 he
said "clashes have continued
between radicals and
government forces resulting in
the death of security officers
in the North-West and
South-West regions likely to
further inflame tensions."
Wait, security officers were
the only ones, even as implied
here the first ones, to be
killed? Inner City Press at
noon on December 13, after
Fall ran past it at the
stakeout saying he had another
meeting, asked UN Deputy
Spokesman Farhan Haq about it,
UN transcript here
and below. On December 14,
Inner City Press asked UN
Spokesman Haq again about
Fall, who is failing on the
Lord's Resistance Army (and
Gabon) as well, UN transcript
here: Inner City Press: I'd
asked you yesterday about
whether Mr. [Francois
Lounceny] Fall would answer
questions, and many… given…
after his briefing yesterday,
many people, in looking at the
paragraph on Cameroon, in
particular, have many
questions about it. He
referred to clashes between
radicals. And so people
want to know, in the same way
that he called secessionists
extremists, what he meant by
radicals. I guess I'm
just wondering, is he still in
New York? I know he was
here Monday through
Wednesday. And is there
some way to get him to clarify
why… for example, the refugee
flows into Nigeria are not
mentioned in his report and
sort of what he's actually
doing on this issue? Deputy
Spokesman: Well, it's
certainly his call whether he
wants to come to the
press. He chose not to
do that yesterday, but he did
have an open briefing, and we
provided the contents of he
said. Hold on.
Hold on. [Cutting Press off.
Later:] Inner City Press: I'd
wanted… also, one of the
sections of Mr. Fall's
briefing was about the Lord's
Resistance Army (LRA), and
after his briefing, so it's
not addressed in it, the US
has announced new sanctions
against two members of the
LRA, particularly in
connection with the Central
African Republic. This
is a major part of his
mandate, but it's confined to
one paragraph of his
briefing. That's, I
guess, why I'm, again, asking
you. Is there some way
for him to respond to the
issues unaddressed or that
arose after yesterday's
presentation? Deputy
Spokesman: Well, like I
said, we'll reach out and see
whether he wants to or intends
to speak to the press.
Ultimately, that's his
decision." And a bad one. A
fish rots from the head. From
the December 13 transcript:
Inner City Press: I
wanted to ask you about
Cameroon. Can we get Mr.
François Fall to have a
stakeout or some kind of media
availability? He came
out of the Council just now
and ran by. He didn't
answer a question on Patrice
Nganang, nor did he answer
about… basically, his briefing
seems to conclude with the
death of security officers,
which has taken place, but
absolutely nothing on the
death of civilians. So,
I wanted to know, can you give
a little bit more flavor
beyond the paragraph in his
open briefing? And will
he make himself available at a
stakeout or in some other way
while he's in New York?
And, finally, I did… there's a
photo of António Guterres with
Paul Biya, I guess, on the
steps of the Élysée
Palace. Do you have any
readouts of any of his
meetings at that One Planet
Summit? Deputy
Spokesman: No, he did
not have a meeting with
President Biya, nor was one
scheduled. I believe he
met with Mayor Mike Bloomberg,
the former mayor of New York
City, to discuss climate
change issues. We don't
have any extensive readouts
because there wasn't a large
number of meetings with Heads
of State or Government.
And, regarding Mr. Fall, of
course, it's his determination
whether he wants to do a press
availability, but we've raised
that before. Inner City Press:
Can you then ask him whether
he raised, in the… in the
consultations anything to do
with press freedom in
Cameroon? Because one of
the participants in the… in
the… in the… in the
consultations said basically
that he didn't. It's not
in his briefing. And,
obviously, there are not only…
not just the one I've asked
about, journalists detained,
still restrictions on the
Internet, and it's nowhere in
his briefing. So, is
there something outside of the
Security Council process that
he's doing, or… or is he doing
nothing on that? Deputy
Spokesman: Well, he's in
touch with the Member States
bilaterally, as well as
through the Council, but
regarding the public record,
we've provided the actual
remarks that he delivered in
the Security Council." We'll
have more on this - Fall did
not mention press freedom,
detentions like that of
Patrice Nganang or the cut off
and slowing down of the
Internet and social
networks. On December
12, when Inner City Press
asked UN spokesman Farhan Haq
for the fourth time about
Biya's imprisonment of
Stonybrook profession Patrice
Nganang, Haq had a prepared
statement ready, calling for
due process and offering the
UN's "good offices" for
dialogue, in the person of
Francois Fall. Fall will
brief the Security Council on
December 13 and a source who
has seen his remarks in
advance tells Inner City Press
the word "Anglophone" is in
there. But
Fall has
equated
secessionists
with
extremists,
and has said
that even
Federalism is
off the table.
These are bad
offices. There
were threats of prosecution
against people who refuse to
celebrate Biya's 35 years in
power. Photo of letter here.
So is this was Guterres
celebrates, under the Guterres
Doctrine? What is the
relation to the illegal lumber
exports signed off on by
Guterres' Deputy, Amina J.
Mohammed in the #RosewoodRacket?There
were threats to Inner City
Press' accreditation at the
UN, here.
And in Cameroon, worse - and
tellingly, the UN's partners
even find a way to report on
Biya's censorship without
naming the UN as complicit.
But the UN is complicit. After
Paul Biya detained Stonybrook
professor Patrice Nganang for
his reporting from the
Anglophone zones, Inner City
Press twice asked the UN about
it, with only evasions, video
here.
On December 11, Inner City
Press asked for a third time,
and also about Guterres
meeting Biya in Paris. Deputy
Spokesman Farhan Haq replied,
"I'm
checking with
our colleagues
in Political
Affairs about
what response
we have.
Once we have
something to
say, I'll let
you know."
Again without attribution and
again misrepresenting the UN's
long inaction, Newsday
reported that "a spokesman for
UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres said he had not heard
back from UN officials in the
department of political
affairs about Nganang's case,
so UN officials had no new
information about the case
Monday. But Guterres, in
October, condemned an outbreak
of violence in the English
speaking minority areas of
Cameroon." An outbreak of
violence? Guterres has done
nothing, except take one and
now maybe two golden statues,
and rush back to be honored
and sold by such scribed on
December 15. We'll have more
on this. From the UN's
December 11 transcript:
Inner City Press: in the
lead-up to this One Planet
Summit in Paris, the President
of Cameroon, Paul Biya, has
said that he's received
invitations to speak there or
meet there with President
[Emmanuel] Macron and António
Guterres. That's what he
said. So, I… what I
wanted to know is, if… if… if
that's true, what… I've asked
you last week and Stéphane
[Dujarric] about for example,
the case of Patrice Nganang,
who's now… it's become a
pretty… pretty well-covered
case with human rights groups
saying, how could this writer
and professor who is reporting
on the Anglophone areas be
detained by the
Government? What would
be… is it… can you confirm
that António Guterres has
asked to meet with Paul
Biya? And, if so, would
this issue or the Anglophone
issue generally be on the
agenda? Deputy
Spokesman: Well, as
with… as is normally the case,
when the Secretary-General
travels, if he holds meetings
with other world leaders,
we'll try to get the readouts
of them. Stéphane
[Dujarric] is there with the
Secretary-General, and we'll
be in touch with him to make
sure that any of these
meetings happen, and we'll try
to provide details. Inner City
Press: On that issue that I
asked you about last week, one
media report that came out
based on your answer said that
the UN said it was concerned
but neither confirmed that it
was aware of or doing anything
about the case. I know
Mr. [Francois Lounceny] Fall
is in the building
today. Has anyone in the
UN system reached out to the
Government to ask about the
status of this professor who
visited to look into the
Anglophone issue? Deputy
Spokesman: "I'm checking
with our colleagues in
Political Affairs about what
response we have. Once
we have something to say, I'll
let you know." On December 7,
Inner City Press asked UN
Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq,
video here,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: on
Cameroon? Stéphane
[Dujarric] had said the UN was
trying to figure out what
President Paul Biya has
said. Since that time,
there's said to be… many
people have left the region
where they were told that
they'll be viewed as
collaborators if they don't
leave. And now a writer,
Patrice Nganang, has been
disappeared from Douala
Airport. He's a
professor here at Stony Brook,
and he went and reported on
the Anglophone region and was
taken off his flight and
whatever. It seems to be
a pretty… Many people are
saying that somebody needs to
get involved. I wonder
if Mr. [Francois Lounceny]
Fall is aware of it. Has
the UN system taken note of
the disappearance of this
journalist? Deputy
Spokesman: Obviously
everyone who is in Cameroon or
traveling to Cameroon, if
there are any problems that
occur during their travels,
that needs to be investigated
thoroughly by the local
authorities. We
certainly hope and expect that
this particular person will be
found, and we're hopeful that
nothing untoward has
happened. But… Inner
City Press: What if the
authorities are at fault?
Deputy Spokesman: We'll
have to see what happens, but
first and foremost they need
to investigate what's
happened." The next day
December 8, Inner City Press
asked again, this time to
Guterres' lead spokesman
Dujarric, transcript here:
Inner City Press: I asked
yesterday Farhan [Haq] about
the Cameroonian Government’s
detention of a US based writer
and activist, Patrice Nganang,
and now it’s become… giving
that he sort of disappeared
off a plane, many groups
including PEN and various
press freedom groups are
speaking about it. I’m
wondering if the UN is using
any of its access for the
Cameroonian Government to ask
where this writer may have
been taken? Spokesman: "I will
check." Video here.
Hours later, nothing. Check
what? Now CPJ put out a
statement, not naming the UN
where it is so happy to have
been accredited that it said
NOTHING when the Press was
evicted and remains
restricted; also a story by
Associated Press, which has
never at the UN asked any
question about the abuses in
Cameroon. Even more telling,
because a two-step, Newsday
ran an initial story without
attribution or context that said,
"Farhan Haq, a spokesman for
UN Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres, said Thursday that
he hoped Nganang is safe but
did not say whether the UN
itself was aware of the
detention or whether it would
intervene." Photo here.
Then a subsequent versions
dropped the UN entirely, and
its responsibility. This is
how the UN of Guterres has
gotten as UNaccountable as it
is: it cultivates this type of
(non) coverage. We'll have
more on this. Upon Paul Biya's
return from the African Union
- EU summit in Abidjan he has
"declared war" on what he
calls secessionist terrorists
in Ambazonia or Southern
Cameroons. Inner City Press
asked the UN about it and UN
Spokesman Stephane Dujarric
only said they are "still
looking at" or studying what
Biya said. Now orders have
been issued for civilians to
"relocate" and for business
people to stop working. See
order here.
This echoes what the UN's
Francois Fall said, on Alison
Smale's UN Radio no less, that
secessionists are extremists
and even Federalism is not on
the table. On December 4,
Inner City Press asked UN
Spokesman Stephane Dujarric,
Persicope video here,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: On Cameroon,
Friday you said that the UN is
still looking exactly at what
the president, Paul Biya,
said. What he said is
that… basically a crackdown in
the Anglophone areas.
Since that briefing, an order
issue telling people to
relocate, telling civilians
with no relation to the
standoff that they will be
viewed as secessionists and/or
terrorists. This issue,
this order is public, and it's
online. Also, a
journalist has faced death
threats for having testified
at a Human Rights Council
thing in Geneva about
minorities. So what I
wanted to know is have you
now, after this time, looked
exactly at what was said, and
what is the UN's comment on
the president's escalation…
his comments…?
Spokesman: I haven't
seen the order you referred to
myself. What is clear is
that we continue to urge all
parties that have grievances
to address those through legal
and peaceful dialogue and we
stand ready to help on
that. Obviously, it is
important that journalists or
anyone, as a matter of
principle, journalists or
anyone who speaks to the Human
Rights Council be able to do
so free of any
intimidation. Inner City
Press: Is it legitimate under
international law to order
civilians out of an area,
saying you'll be viewed as a
collaborator if you do not
leave? Spokesman: "I
will take a look. I have
not seen the specific order."
Hours later, nothing. In fact,
Dujarric ran out of the The UN
has thrown gasoline on this
conflict, far from engaging in
the preventative diplomacy
that Antonio Guterres, when
running for his post, said he
was about. In the UN, he and
his Deputy Amina J. Mohammed
have kept up Press
restrictions and censorship.
On December 1 Inner City Press
asked Guterres' spokesman
Stephane Dujarric about Biya's
comment. Dujarric said the UN
is still trying to study them
- it's not hard, they're on
YouTube, here
- and said the last time
Guterres spoke with Biya was
in October (that is, over the
golden statue). Now what? In
Bamenda, local journalist
Elvis McCarty (some say Elvis
Macarty) was reportedly
roughed up by Paul Biya's
security forces, the tools of
his journalistic trade
confiscated and/or broken,
with him being accused of
being a secessionist - or, as
the UN's Francois Fall has put
it, an "extremist." And while
Guterres and his envoy Failing
Fall purport to urge dialogue
in CameroUN on "the Anglophone
issue," when the issue was
raised in Parliament in
Yaounde, there was a walk-out.
some dialogue. Meanwhile the
Swiss government has responded
in a November 17 letter
obtained and published
by Inner City Press to issues
raised by Southern
Cameroonians there. On
November 21, Inner City Press
asked Guterres' deputy
spokesman Farhan Haq, video here, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: I
wanted to ask a question about
Cameroon. In the
south-west region, a video
emerged basically of
authorities ordering people
out of their cars and to walk
on their knees, very much to
humiliate them, etc. And
so, people… one, they've
wondered, like, what's the
status of the UN's call for
dialogue since they don't see
this as dialogue? And,
number two, they've seen that
the Swiss ambassador has said
publicly that he visited the
area and is very
concerned. So, the
question, I guess, I had is
whether François Fall, in his
various visits… has he
actually gone to those regions
of the country? Does he
have an intention to go?
Has he requested to go but
been rebuffed? How can
it be that the ambassador of a
country based in Yaoundé has
more… has greater access than
the UN… UNOCA [United Nations
Office in Central Africa]
representative?
Spokesman: "Well, Mr.
Fall works out his itinerary
with the authorities as he
can. Whenever we have
further travel for him… by him
to announce, we will." Well.
Meanwhile another part of the
UN system -- independent
experts whom the UN
Secretariat emphasizes are NOT
the UN -- has belatedly spoken
out where Guterres, Amina
"Rosewood" Mohammed and
Francois Fall have not. But
then Fall essentially undercut
the experts, focusing on
attacks on security forces
and... territorial integrity.
Here's from Failing Fall's
UNOCA: "The United Nations
Regional Office for Central
Africa (UNOCA) continues to
closely monitor the situation
in the North-West and
South-West Regions of
Cameroon... Mr. François
Louncény Fall seizes this
opportunity to recall the
commitment of the United
Nations to the territorial
integrity and unity of
Cameroon." On November 17,
Inner City Press asked Antonio
Guterres' spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, Tweeted video
here, UN transcript here: Inner
City Press: this François
[Louncény] Fall
statement. And the
reason I'm asking is that, as
you may know five experts of
Geneva-based special
rapporteurs, including on
freedom of expression, defense
of human right defenders and
others, issued a statement.
The statement is largely
focused on abuses by the
Government of Anglophones,
censorship, turning off social
media. They have a[n
artificially low] death
figure. They talk about
torture. I know that
they're not part of the UN
system. They do give
briefings in this room.
They are appointed by the
Human Rights Council.
What's the relationship
between human rights experts
saying the Government is
killing Anglophones and
François Fall saying territory
is important and gendarmes
have been killed? It seems
like they're two opposing
statements. Spokesman:
A, I don't think they're in
contradiction of each other,
and everybody has a different
role within the wide and
varied UN system. The
special rapporteurs, as you do
note, are independent from the
Secretariat and the
Secretary-General, appointed
by the Human Rights
Council. They are an
extremely important part of
the UN's human rights
mechanism and, as a matter of
principle, countries should
cooperate with these human
rights experts. I'm not
privy to their research or how
they get their
information. As I said,
they're independent. We
have over the past months,
expressed our concern at the
violence. We've
expressed our concern at the
lack of Internet access.
The basic message that Mr.
Fall and that the
Secretary-General have
reiterated is the fact that
the situation in these two
regions will best be addressed
by an inclusive and genuine
political dialogue. Inner City
Press: I want to ask one
follow-up. And I asked
you before, but I think you'll
see the need to actually
answer it now. Mr.
François Fall, in an interview
played on UN Radio, said that
secessionists are extremists
and that federalism, which
used to be the status of this
area, is off the table.
Number one, that's why people
don't see him as a credible
mediator, but more
importantly, the equation of
nonviolent secessionists with
extremists is exactly the
logic that the Government uses
to kill people from helicopter
gunships, so that's why I'm
asking you. It seems
like some of the problems that
the human rights experts are
criticizing are, in fact… I
don't want to say caused by
Mr. Fall's statement, but in
some way resonant with the
logic of… of saying that
anyone that says we should be
independent is an extremist
and should be shot at from a
helicopter. Spokesman:
"I don't agree with your
logic, and I don't think in
any way, shape, or form Mr.
Fall should be blamed for what
is going on in the country."
So why did Failing Fall equate
secessionists with extremists?
And how can he remain
Guterres' envoy to Cameroon?
Where is the golden statue?
Here is the Experts' full
text: "GENEVA (17 November
2017) - The Government of
Cameroon must engage
representatives of the
Anglophone population in a
meaningful political dialogue
and halt renewed violence in
the south-west and north-west,
where the country’s
English-speaking minority are
reportedly suffering worsening
human rights violations, a
group of UN experts has
warned. “We urge the
Government to adopt all
necessary measures consistent
with Cameroon’s human rights
obligations to end the cycle
of violence,” the experts said
in a joint statement. Up
to 17 people have reportedly
been killed, and dozens
wounded and arrested in
demonstrations in the
country’s Anglophone regions
since 1 October. The
experts are disturbed by
reports of a series of
measures taken by the national
authorities, including
curfews, a ban on public
meetings, and other
restrictions aimed at
preventing peaceful protests.
Excessive use of force by the
security services, injuries,
mass arrests, arbitrary
detentions, torture and other
ill-treatment have also been
reported. Freedom of
expression has been reportedly
limited by the blocking of
internet connections and of
access to social media
platforms such as Twitter,
WhatsApp and Facebook, which a
UN expert has previously
condemned. “These restrictions
must stop immediately, and the
Government must ensure a
thorough, impartial and
independent investigation into
all allegations of human
rights violations perpetrated
during and after the events of
1 October. The Government must
take effective measures to
prosecute and sanction all
those responsible for such
violations.” The appeal for
action comes nearly a year
after UN experts publicly
urged the Government to halt
violence against the
English-speaking minority,
following reports that
Anglophone protesters in Buea
and Bamenda had suffered undue
force. The experts also
denounced any use of violence
against members of the
security forces, after reports
that several were killed last
week. Since December
2016, the experts have
repeatedly raised concerns
directly with the Government
of Cameroon and continue to
monitor and seek clarification
of the alleged human rights
violations in the north-west
and south-west of the
country. Ms. Annalisa
Ciampi, Special Rapporteur on
the rights to freedom of
peaceful assembly and of
association; Mr. Michel
Forst, Special
Rapporteur on the situation of
human rights defenders; Mr.
José Antonio Guevara Bermúdez,
Chair-Rappourteur of the
Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention; Mr. David
Kaye, Special Rapporteur
on the promotion and
protection of the right to
freedom of opinion and
expression; Ms. Agnes
Callamard, Special Rapporteur
on extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions; Mr.
Fernand de Varennes, Special
Rapporteur on minority
issues." What next? When will
the UN's Failing Fall go see
the Anglophone areas for
himself, or be replaced? As
Inner City Press asked
the UN about on November 16,
more than 46,000 people have
so far petitioned Guterres to
investigate and act on
Mohammed's actions with
respect (or disrespect) to
natural resources in rosewood
in Nigeria and Cameroon. But
as on Cameroon, Guterres
refuses so far to act.
Meanwhile in the South West
Region, there is a curfew and
demand to register and give
"weapons" to the government.
On November 13, Inner City
Press asked UN Spokesman
Stephane Dujarric, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press: over the
weekend, in Cameroon, in both
the northwest and southwest,
there was a collection
apparently in light of not
only armaments, rifles and
handguns, but even hoes and
cutlasses, it said, basically
a total disarmament and… and…
impinging on even farming work
by people. And I'm
wondering, given that François
Fall is… calls for a dialogue,
what… is the UN aware of
this? There are written
orders online that you can see
telling people to turn all of
these things in…
Spokesman: "I have
nothing on these reports as of
now." Nor six hours
later. On November 9,
Inner City Press asked UN
official Najat Rochdi, who was
the head of the UN system in
Cameroon until earlier this
year and is now its deputy in
the Central African Republic
where Guterres just visited
before Cameroon, if Guterres
had spoken to her at all about
Cameroon. No, she said, he had
wanted to optimize his time.
Video here.
So apparently Guterres gets
his information, and gold
statues, from Paul Biya, or
from Khassim Diagne, who was
part of Rochdi's system. It
is closed loop, and a
total failure. On November 8,
Inner City Press asked
Guterres' spokesman Stephane
Dujarric (drawing a response
of sorts, that "The
Anglophones have been doing
some shooting today"), UN
transcript
here: Inner City Press:
on Cameroon, I know that there
was a call by François
[Lounceny] Fall and, I guess,
the Secretary-General for
dialogue with the “Anglophone
regions”. It's reported
in the press in Yaoundé that
the Government has sought
international arrest warrants
for 15 Anglophone leaders, and
I'm wondering if that would be
viewed as consistent with this
call for dialogue and, if not,
if the UN has anything to say
about it. Spokesman
Dujarric: I don't have
any information on those
arrest warrants. We,
obviously, continue to call
for calm and reiterate the
availability of the UN to
support the search for a
lasting solution in the
Anglophone provinces.
And we call on the… also on
the authorities to ensure
maximum restraint by security
forces. Evelyn? Evelyn
Leopold: Yes. I think
the Anglophones did some
shooting today." Video here;
Leopold is retired from
Reuters, still demands first
questions at UN press
conferences "on behalf of the
United Nations Correspondents
Association," wihch will
charge money for an event with
Antonio Guterres in
mid-December - we will have
more on this. On November 7
Inner City Press asked
Guterres' spokesman Stephane
Duajrric, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: I wanted to
ask you two questions about
Cameroon. One is, since
the Secretary-General's visit,
one, there's a… there are
reports of a crackdown in a
place called Jakiri, where one
gendarme was killed, and now
basically everyone is being
told there will be collective
punishment unless a gun is
turned over. And I
wanted to know, is Mr.
[François Louncény] Fall… who…
after the visit, who's keeping
track of it? Also,
bigger picture maybe, the… the
Cross River State Governor in
Nigeria, Ben Ayade, has said
that the border has
essentially been closed for
people fleeing the Cameroon…
the anglophone region of
Cameroon, and I wanted to know
whether that's something that
either Mr. Fall or on the… you
know, UNHCR is aware of.
Spokesman: UNHCR, you
can check with them. I
will… I don't have anything
on… more on Cameroon. Inner
City Press: if Mr. Fall was
there on the trip… he wasn't
in the photograph with
the…Spokesman: He was
there. We already said
he was there. Inner City
Press: All right. So
what was the… was any plan
reached for continued work…?
Spokesman: If there's a
further visit that he's able
to make, we will announce it."
Nothing. On November 6,
Inner City Press asked
Guterres' deputy spokesman
Farhan Haq, UN transcript here: Inner
City Press:has to do with
Cameroon, where the
Secretary-General stopped, met
President [Paul] Biya.
Today, they're celebrating the
thirty-fifth anniversary of
his accession to power.
And a letter's emerged that
orders all Government
employees to participate in
the ceremony marking the
thirty-fifth year in power of
Paul Biya, saying, basically,
names should be provided, and
they will be punished for
not. Given… I guess I'm
just wondering, is the Sec…
was the Secretary-General,
when he stopped, when he took
this golden statue, what did…
was he aware of this?
What does he think of… is it…
is it permissible, from the
UN's point of view, for a
Government to order its civil
servants to mark the
thirty-fifth year in power of
a leader or face punishment,
or should this be
discouraged? And does he
have any comment on it? Deputy
Spokesman: Obviously,
people everywhere have the
right to freedom of movement,
freedom of expression, freedom
of assembly. Those
freedoms need to be respected
in all circumstances.
Regarding the gift, Stéphane
[Dujarric] made very clear to
you that's a standard protocol
gift — which happens in many
different countries and
contexts." The UN delivered a
threat
to Inner City Press to
“review” it accreditation on
October 20, using as its
pretext an undefined violation
with Periscope in UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres' 38th
floor conference room, and
publishing audio from a UN
stakeout, citing Cameroon. On
October 31 at the UN Security
Council stakeout, Cameroon's
Ambassador approached Inner
City Press and issued his own
threat. Of the UN's 38th
floor, he demanded of Inner
City Press, "Who asked you to
go to 38? I'm going to call,
say for Matthew not to go
upstairs. You've started...
asking nasty questions." On
November 2, Inner City Press
asked Guterres' spokesman
Stephane Dujarric about it,
video here,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: a statement
made by Cameroon's Permanent
Representative to me at the
Security Council stakeout, in
a public area, saying, on 38,
"Who asked you to be up
there? I'm going to make
a call to make sure Matthew is
not up there anymore.
You ask nasty
questions." So my
question to you is, if a
Member State, in this case a
Member State that is subject
to questions, nasty or not,
were to call the 38th floor
and say, I want a particular
media to not be up there, why
are [they] up there — what
would be the response from the
38th floor? I ask
because I've gotten an
accreditation threat for being
up there. That's why
it’s strange… Spokesman:
Well, I think you're mixing…
you know, if an event is open
to the press, to the wider
press, then everybody is
welcome. We are not…
journalists here have to do
their job. There are
obviously restrictions placed,
depending on the event, but I
guess the answer would be
no. Thank you." This
from the UN Spokesman who
threw Inner City Press out of
the UN Press Briefing and then
from its office, keeping it
still restricted. This is
today's UN. But can Inner City
Press publish this threat,
meant to hinder or prevent
coverage of mass killing and
displacement of Anglophones,
without the UN's Department of
Public Information's
censorship machinery moving to
review its accreditation, or
using it as its rationale for
continuing to keep Inner City
Press from its long time
office, keep it restricted in
movement? DPI boss Alison
Smale said she saw the need to
respond to petitions to
restore Inner City Press to
its office and normal access -
then her Department issued its
October 20 threat. Now this.
Watch this site - audio here.
Be aware: the audio is from
Smale's own DPI. This UN has
become disgusting. The
UN official who signed the letter,
when Inner City Press went to
ask about the undefined
violation of live-streaming
Periscope video at a photo op
by UN Secretary General
Antonio Guterres, had already
left, minutes after sending
the threat. What to make of
the letter's vague statement,
"filming and recording on the
38th floor are limited to
official photo opportunities,
and recording conversations of
others in the room is not
permitted. It has been brought
to our attention that you
breached that rule recently"?
It's not only vague as to
when, but absurd: once a
Periscope is authorized to
start streaming, it is
impossible to not record
someone who speaks loudly at
the photo op. This comes two
days after Inner City Press asked Guterres about the
UN inaction on threatened
genocide in Cameroon, and the
UN claimed
Guterres hadn't heard the
15-second long question.
Recently at a photo op,
Guterres' adviser on Cameroon
Khassim Diagne spoke loudly.
Inner City Press later reported,
based on sourcing, that Diagne
who was previously the
representative to Cameroon for
UNHCR,
the UN refugee agency Guterres
ran, speaks in favor of
Cameroon's government. Is this
letter a response to the
reporting? Is it retaliation?
Is it intimidation to stop
reporting on this threatened
genocide? We can't ask the
complainant, Maher Nasser:
after the threat was
delivered, he blocked Inner
City Pres on Twitter, here.

It also
comes after Alison Smale the
head of the Department of
Public Information which would
“review” Inner City Press'
accreditation has ignored threeseparatepetitions
from Inner City Press in the
six weeks she has been in the
job, urging her to remove
restrictions on Inner City
Press' reporting which hinder
its coverage of the UN's
performance in such crises as
Yemen,
Kenya,
Myanmar,
and the Central African
Republic where Guterres
travels next week, with
Smale's DPI saying its
coverage of the trip will be a
test of its public relations
ability. But the UN official
who triggered the complaint is
Maher Nasser, who filled in
for Smale before she arrived.

His complaint is that audio of
what he said to Inner City
Press as it staked out the
elevators in the UN lobby
openly recording, as it has
for example
with Cameroon's Ambassador
Tommo Monthe, here,
was similarly published.

A UN “Public Information”
official is complaining about
an article, and abusing his
position to threaten to review
Inner City Press'
accreditation. The UN has
previously been called
out for targeting Inner
City Press, and for having no
rules or due process.
But the UN is entirely
UNaccountable, impunity on
censorship as, bigger picture,
on the cholera it brought to
Haiti. And, it seems, Antonio
Guterres has not reformed or
reversed anything. This threat
is from an official involved
in the last round of
retaliation who told Inner
City Press on Twitter to be
less "negative" about the UN -
amid inaction on the mass
killing in Cameroon - and who
allowed pro-UN hecking of
Inner City Press' questions
about the cholera the UN
brought to Haiti and the Ng
Lap Seng /John Ashe UN bribery
scandal which resulted in six
guilty verdicts. We'll have
more on this.

***

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